Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, narrator James Marsters

It's about a year after the previous book. Harry has been busier than usual. The ghosts of the city seem to be in a tizzy. And a young woman walks into his office, asking for help. She says she sees visions and that Harry is going to be the reason one outcome occurs versus another. He's been working with Michael, a knight of the Lord. And they'll have to keep working together in order to take down an old enemy who is now walking through their nightmares. 

Three stars

Dresden #3

This book came out September 1, 2001

Follows Fool Moon

Followed by Summer Knight

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie with narrator David Suchet

I get this story and the "Triangle at Rhodes" confused with each other. Both are Poirot on vacation with a glamorous woman, in this book, Arlena Stuart, who ends up dead. Both have a female confidante. The confidante in this one is a famous dressmaker who was the childhood friend of the dead woman's husband. In this story, the dead woman's husband has a daughter. His first wife was accused of murder and acquited. The second wife (the dead woman) was also accused of murder and acquited. However, Arlena was rather stupid and vain. She was also having a rather ill-concealed affair with a gentleman who was also on vacation at the Jolly Roger, Patrick Redfern. 

Three stars
Hercule Poirot #23

This book came out in 1941

Follows One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Followed by Five Little Pigs

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher, narrator James Marsters

 Harry is still under a curse, he's still in Chicago, but he's trying harder to find work since his job with the Chicago police force hasn't been as lucrative since the first book in the series. His friend asks him about a particular rune but it's magic far beyond what she can control so Harry refuses to tell her, which is the right thing. But then he's pulled into a series of murders that look like they were committed by something like a wolf. It's bad enough that the FBI is in town to take the case. 

Three stars

The Dresden Files #2 

This book came out January 9, 2001

Follows Storm Front

Followed by Grave Peril

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I read a few of the books in this series soon after the TV show came out but couldn't remember why I had stopped. I think that there is not quite the same sense of fun in the books. There are some funny parts, just a different humor. For this book, there were also a lot of, "I'm not going to make it" moments. A. Lot. 

But this is the book that introduces the readers to Harry Dresden, a wizard in contemporary Chicago. Technology and magic don't work well together so he's not exactly up to date with the latest trends but he muddles along as best he can. He's also trying to make a living. So when two dead bodies turn up with their hearts ripped out, Harry is on the case. 

Three stars

The Dresden Files #1 

This book came out April 1, 2000

Followed by Fool Moon

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander

I read the previous book in this series eleven years ago but was recently reminded that the Lady Emily series was one that I had enjoyed so I picked the series back up. I had forgotten about the alternating timelines... not one of my favorite plot devices. 

Emily has been summoned to Italy by her best frenemy, Emma. There is no love lost between them but Emma's father-in-law has been murdered, her husband has disappeared. Emily's husband is well known as an investigator and Emily is becoming no slouch herself. 

This murder is entwined with a romance from the 1500s and a family feud that is still ongoing. 

Three and a half stars

Lady Emily #7

This book came out 

Follows A Crimson Warning

Followed by Behind the Shattered Glass

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Hexes Go Well with Tequila by LeAnna Ehrsam

This book felt like a cozy fiction book with a random sex scene thrown in for... reasons?

Ursula Cambridge's relationship is failing. When a mysterious invitation appears, she decides to take up the offer to live in The Lost Souls House. Pretty quickly, she makes friends. One night, they get drunk on margaritas and decide to "hex" the people that have wronged them. Except that the hexes turn out to be real. 

There are also a number of sub-plots with a grumpy bachelor and his wayward niece, a friend of a friend who is running for mayor, and the man who is running against her on "family values" who is, not surprisingly, someone who doesn't hold those same values to himself. 

Three stars

The Lost Souls #1

This book came out September 24, 2024

Followed by Curses Dance with Bourbon

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Invisible Influence by Jonah Berger, Keith Nobbs (Narrator)

I think more people are going to be aware of some of the ideas behind this book, especially after Meryl Streep's speech in The Devil Wears Prada about why Anne Hathaway is wearing her sweater. Berger studied the reasons that we make decisions. This is a very Western-centered (especially American) look at how we make choices whether it's the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, or the beer we order. He also looks at how certain styles and colors cycle in and out of popularity. 

Three stars

This book came out Jun 14, 2016

Borrowed as audiobook from Libby

Opinions are my own

Slay Fell Things by Erik Henry Vick

He knows when you've been sleeping, he knows when you're awake... And he wants to sacrifice you so that he can stay immortal, as liches do. Well, really, he's going after Leery. But Dru might have something to say about that. 

With Leery and Dru being back in "the real world," their relationship needs to take the next step and this story ends with that happening. 

Three stars

This book came out December 11, 2020

Claw & Warder #8

Follows Sure 'Lock

Followed by Where the Wild Things Aren't

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Coaching Effect by Sarah Wirth, Bill Eckstrom

This book has the premise that coaching elevates teams more than managing does. They studied sales teams becuase they are easier to track immediate results. They also talk about the four growth rings: stagnation (low/no growth), chaos (performance low), order (predictibility), complexity (growth through discomfort). 

They also talk about the tools needed for high performance growth: one-on-one meetings, team meetings, performance feedback, and career development plans. It's not only important to have these things but to do them on a particular cadence and in a particular style (in person, email, etc.)  It IS important to be clear and specific, to structure the talk for feedback, and to ask what questions rather than why questions, and to pay attention to your tone. 

It was an interesting book and fine enough to read, but I didn't really connect with the style.

Three stars

This book came out April 2, 2019

Borrowed as audiobook from Hoopla

Opinions are my own
 

The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Chao

It starts off so sterotypically, Kathryn has had a bad day and just wants to talk to her boyfriend. When she gets to his house, there are rose petals leading to the bedroom and her boyfriend is on his knee... in front of another woman. She decides to go on the romantic vacation she had planned with her boyfriend but with the other woman instead. When they get there, they discover a third woman! The three get together and decided to prank the heck out of him. Instead, they find his dead body. That sets off a chain of events where Kathryn becomes one of the main suspects. At least she gets to spend some time with the super hot cop.

This book was fine but I didn't feel like any of the characters were fully developed. 

Three stars

Hu Done It #1

This book came out June 24, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Photographic Memory by Bill Griffith

I live near Yellowstone and knew quite a bit about William Henry Jackson as one of the people whose work helped influence it becoming the first national park. This book was an interesting historical fiction of WHJ's life, done by his great-grandson who is also an artist, a cartoonist. This graphic novel explores the highs and lows of the original WHJ, of how he became a photographer and how he had an absolutely amazing life, traveling the world, but still struggled with mundanities like actually being paid for his work. 

Some of it was a little bit of a slog for me but I can see why it was included on the list of NPR Best Books.

Three stars

This book came out October 21, 2025

Borrowed as hard copy from the library

Opinions are my own

How to Winter by Kari Leibowitz

I love winter. After a Midwestern fall (yes, very specific to the Midwest) it is my favorite season. This book appealed to me because I thought I'd find ways to love it even more. And that is in there, to an extent, but there is a lot about how the author hates winter. And how she believes that all Americans hate winter. Which, you are allowed to have your own opinions about the season but she talks about it quite often. Quite. Often. 

All things being equal, there a number of good suggestions that fall under the broader categories of appreciating winter (get out into nature, speak positively about the season at least once a day), make it special (use low, warm light, extend the holiday feeling into the new year), get outside (how to dress for the weather, using friends, concentrating on the easy wins.)

Three stars

This book came out October 22, 2024

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison

Twenty years ago, Clio's mom, Alexandra, wrote a moderately successful story about their house being possessed by a demon. She wasn't the best mother and, now that she's dead, Clio is the only one of the three daughters who wants to go to the funeral. She is also the only one who is willing to go back to the house. While there, she finds a copy of the book she had promised to never read. However, there are annotations written directly to her that we get to read along with the book that Alex wrote. It certainly points to the fact that the demon might be real. And Clio is starting to see evidence of that as well.

Three stars

This book came out September 9, 2025

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery

Julie Parker is looking forward to a chill Christmas. Her grown children are doing their own thing so she's just going to spend the day with her boyfriend. Her twelve-years-younger than her boyfriend. The one her children don't... technically... know about. Then, plans change. And change again. And change again. Julie, her children, her boyfriend, and their partners all have to be flexible. 

Mainly told from Julie's third person point of view, this is a holiday story like most, there's a lot going on so nothing is really developed.

Three stars

This book came out October 1, 2024

Borrowed as ebook from Libby

Opinions are my own

The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts

Closing out the trilogy, Sonya and her friends defeat the evil ghost of Hester who was disappointed in love and took it out on generations of Pooles (Sonya being the latest in line.) We get to visit some of the brides on whom Hester inflicted her revenge when Sonya walks through mirrors to view the past. There is also a lot of time devoted to Sonya turning the grand manor she inherited from her uncle into her own. This is done with the help of several helpful ghosts as well.

This was a fine story and has many hallmarks of Roberts writing but would have better been served as a duology. The second book felt like so much filler and the third book retread a lot of what the second laid out. They are a little dated at this point but the Key books felt similar in tone but served as a better example of how a trilogy should move a story in every book. 

Three stars

Lost Bride Trilogy #3

This book came out November 18, 2025

Follows The Mirror

Hard copy from library

Opinions are my own

Murder, Mess, and the Tangerine Dress by Lynn Rankin-Esquer

This book reminds me of the Stephanie Plum series. The main character, Izzy Bishop, is a chatoic mess, getting food on her clothse and feeding one of her clients a weed cookie. She even has a best friend who is somehow even brasher than her and trying to lose weight. But Izzy has something that Stephanie doesn't - extrasensory powers. They grew after she had a near-death experience in the previous year. That is the the experience that threw off her plan to open an organizing business with her sister so now, rather than being a true partner, Izzy is actually working for her sister. Her younger sister. Her younger  sister who clearly doesn't trust her. Which, to be fair, Izzy is on the manic pixie dream girl end of the spectrum so she tends to have a dirty car and stained clothes (no shame, just not her sister is expecting.)

So, Izzy is late to her appointment for an older widow who is cleaning out her closet. While there, a death occurs and Izzy and the woman nearly die as well. The only reason that they're saved is the woman's dead husband tells Izzy that they need to leave. 

An interesting story that I mainly read because I had also gotten the second book and didn't realize it wasn't the first in a series and I really like to start with the first book in a series. 

Three stars

Order Out of Chaos Mystery, #1

This book came out February 2, 2025

Followed by Murder, Hijinks, and Peridot Cufflinks

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

The Pretend Fiancé Fiasco by Pippa Grant

Davis Remington is the last member of a former boy band group who isn't in a relationship or married. He was the one who broke up the band (at least in his mind) lo, those many years ago. Now, he does computer stuff. His friends and family are convinced that he is involved in the government somehow but he denies it. It's sort of a plot point but there are a lot of plot points. 
Sloane Pearce is a nurse but she is also a volunteer in the Shipwreck Museum. There's a lot going on since she is helping with a celebrity wedding the same day that her sort-of-ex shows up in town wanting to drag her back and someone breaks into the museum. The ex is there because Sloane told her grandmother that she was dating Davis. When she tells Davis, he's like, okay, let's get married. Because he's done this fake wedding thing before. Multiple times. 
So, lots and lots going on this book. The treasure aspect (oh yeah, there's buried treasure and Davis and a few other people are racing to figure out where it is) is most of the story rather than Sloane and Davis. Also, for a character who is called "Manbun," the guy on the cover sure has short hair. 

Three stars

Bro Code #6

This book came out May 8, 2025

Follows Snowed in with Mr. Heartbreaker

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Murder, Hijinks, and the Peridot Cufflinks by Lynn Rankin-Esquer

A year ago, Izzy Bishop had a near-death experience that super charged her already average sense of others. In the last book, she finally accepted that she might have some psychic abilities. Now, she's fully embraced the idea but is trying to figure out how to wield it well. Her first sense  of the book almost breaks a couple up. Then she senses something mysterious about one of the organizing client's significant other. This particular client was a sports star who has a LOT of money. When she touches a pair of cufflinks in his closet, she gets a vision of violent death. The person who died? Her archenemy Shania's elderly husband. Ufda. Is Izzy somehow going to be accused of his murder? Yes. Is she going to get another love interest thus cementing my feelings about how similar this series is to reading Stephanie Plum? Yes. Did I still finish the book? Yes.  

Three stars

Order Out of Chaos #2

Follows Murder, Mess, and the Tangerine Dress

ARC kindly provided as ebook by XandL Press and Netgalley

Opinions are my own

You're So Vain by Angela Casella

Ruthie is trying to get a bookmobile (like a book store not a library) off the ground. Shane is trying to get hired by the last firm in town that might take him on. He tries to hire her to be a pretend family so he looks better while trying to get this job. This is a romance, so, of course, they're going to fall in love. 

One of the conflicts in this book was solved a little too quickly but this is a fast, fun, and fluffy so I probably should have expected that. 

Three stars

This book came out February 1, 2024

Follows You're So Basic
Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

A Christmas Delight by Lois Stewart, Tracy Grant, Elizabeth Morgan, Sara Blayne, Dawn Aldridge Poore, Anthea Malcolm, Jo Beverley

I've had this book for a long time and I've gone from loving these stories to having a certain nostalgia for them. They are rather twee and, because of the brevity, not really well-developed in plot or character. They are also very much romances of the nineties. Good for a visit back in time and for people who like a closed-door romance.  

Twelfth Night by Jo Beverly

Lady Alice Conyngham jilted a man six years ago. This year, her brother has just informed her that the same man, as well as the reason for the jilting, will be under their roof. 

The Lords of Misrule by Sara Blayne

Maggie's cousin is delighted that an eligible bacheor and his twin brother are going to be at their family Christmas. Maggie really couldn't care less until she sprains her ankle and gets to spend some more time with... one of the twins. But which one? And can she save his brother from her cousin's clutches

The Christmas Knight by Anthea Malcolm

Owen and Amanda are in a conundrum with two men claiming to be the rightful owner of a centuries old book. But which one is the true owner? And what is Owen doing spending so much time with Lady Pamela?

Eugenia's Miracle by Elizabeth Morgan

Eugenia Foxworth is popular despinte the fact that she's told people over and over that she is not going to marry anyone. The man she loved died in the war. Unless he didn't. Can she convince him that she loves him only?

The Yuletide Wish by Dawn Aldridge Poore

Anthea's engagement was broken off four years go and she is still somewhat salty about it. However, it seems like her former fiance might be looking to get back together... and have some reasons of his own for breaking off the engagement. Can they meet in the middle?

A Holiday Betrothal by Lois Stewart

Charlotte wasn't sure about her fiance but her father is dying and wants to make sure that she will be taken care of. Now that her father is dead, she is visiting her fiance's home... along with his dead wife's family. Discomfort cranked to level 11. Will she be able to connect with him or are they doomed to be strangers forever?

Three stars

This book came out in 1991

Hard copy of mine

Opinions are my own